Trevor Noah Recalls His Mother Being Shot In The Head

Trevor Noah

Trevor Noah Recalls His Mother Being Shot In The Head

Comedian and The Daily Show host, Trevor Noah is sharing a personal, heartbreaking story about his personal life. The 33-year-old TV host, who was born during Apartheid to a black South African mother and a white Swiss father, recalls a terrible incident that involved his mother and his abusive stepfather. Opening up about one of the scariest moments of his life, Noah recalls his mother being shot in the head after her divorce to his stepfather. At the time, he says he received a phone call as an adult from his brother saying that his stepfather had shot his mother, Patricia. The bullet went into the back of her head and out her nose, missing her brain and arteries and she miraculously survived. His stepfather was convicted of attempted murder but sentenced only to probation. He says,

I remember after the shooting, my mother was in the hospital, and all I felt was rage. My mother said to me, ‘Don’t hate him for doing this, but rather pity him because he too is a victim, in his own way, of a world that has thrust upon him an idea of masculinity that he has subscribed to and is now a part of. As for myself, I do not wish to imbue myself with a hatred that only I will carry.’ 

He continues,

I think watching my mom, her growth post-shooting, our family and the way we became stronger, really became the example that I chose to live by. That’s really what I’ve stuck to, and that’s how I try to live my life every day. 

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